Laisenia Qarase
Prime Minister

(pronounced "lay-SEN-ee-ah kar-ACE-ee")

"I give every citizen this assurance: we will strive for a constitution that works, that unites Fiji and that has genuine public support."

The Republic of Fiji comprises 322 islands spread over 700,000 sq km (270,000 sq mi) of the southwest Pacific Ocean. Total land area is slightly more than 18,270 sq km (7,054 sq mi). The two largest islands are Viti Levu, with an area of 10,388 sq km (4,011 sq mi), and Vanua Levu, which has an area of 5,538 sq km (2,140 sq mi). Geographers consider Fiji the eastern border of Melanesia, but language and traditional culture are more closely linked to the Polynesian islands to the east. These connections are especially close to Tonga in the southeast. Fiji's other near neighbors are Vanuatu to the west and Samoa to the northeast.

Fiji has a multi-ethnic population, estimated in 2002 to total...